Wreckage from the Cessna is recovered on April 30. The plane was hit by another after a photo shoot near the Golden Gate Bridge on April 27 and plunged into San Pablo Bay, according to a preliminary report.

Wreckage from the Cessna is recovered on April 30. The plane was hit by another after a photo shoot near the Golden Gate Bridge on April 27 and plunged into San Pablo Bay, according to a preliminary report.

A dog ran by a dirt road on Point San Pablo Yacht harbor near where the search is taking place. Two planes collided over San Pablo Bay Sunday April 27, 2014 causing a Cessna aircraft to break up and land in the bay. less

A dog ran by a dirt road on Point San Pablo Yacht harbor near where the search is taking place. Two planes collided over San Pablo Bay Sunday April 27, 2014 causing a Cessna aircraft to break up and land in the ... more

Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Photo: Deborah Svoboda, The Chronicle

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Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Photo: Deborah Svoboda, The Chronicle

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Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Photo: Deborah Svoboda, The Chronicle

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Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Boats search for the airplane that crashed into San Pablo Bay in Richmond, Calif. on April 27, 2014.

Photo: Deborah Svoboda, The Chronicle

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An example of a Hawker Sea Fury is seen in this 2009 file photo. Jay Taylor of Memphis, Tenn., helps polish a Hawker Sea Fury used by the Royal Navy in the Korean War on Monday July 27, 2009 at EAA Air Venture in Oshkosh, Wis. Taylor is a member of the crew that brought the plane to Oshkosh. less

An example of a Hawker Sea Fury is seen in this 2009 file photo. Jay Taylor of Memphis, Tenn., helps polish a Hawker Sea Fury used by the Royal Navy in the Korean War on Monday July 27, 2009 at EAA Air Venture ... more

Photo: Mike Roemer, AP

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Plane crash over bay was during pass after photo shoot

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The pilot of a Korean War-era show plane thought he had enough room to pass another small plane after a photo shoot over the Golden Gate Bridge, but heard a "thump" as he crashed into the aircraft, sending an acquaintance plunging to his death in San Pablo Bay, federal investigators said Friday.

The pilot of the show plane, a Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20, was flying behind and to the right of a Cessna 210 about 4 p.m. April 27 when he "broadcast to the Cessna pilot that he would pass low and to the left," according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

"The Cessna pilot responded that it would be a good picture," but the Hawker pilot disagreed because the plane he was piloting was faster, the report said. The report did not say whether any photos were subsequently taken during the attempted pass.

"The Sea Fury pilot proceeded on a path that he thought would allow adequate separation; however, as he was passing the Cessna, he felt and heard a thump and he realized that the two airplanes had collided," the report said. "He pulled up and looked over his shoulder and he observed the Cessna inverted and going down."

The body of the Cessna pilot, 33-year-old David Plumb of Rocklin (Placer County), was recovered by a salvage boat three days later inside the plane's wreckage, which was in 13-foot-deep water about 1 1/2 miles from the Richmond shoreline. Plumb, a licensed pilot and airplane mechanic, died of multiple blunt-force injuries.

The Cessna's fuselage and engine were recovered, but one of the wings and propeller were not, authorities said.

The Hawker pilot, whose name wasn't released, told investigators that he chose to continue flying to his base at Eagle's Nest Airport in Ione (Amador County) after the collision because he "wanted to avoid populated areas," the report said. He and his wife, who was flying with him, weren't hurt.

An inspection of the Hawker revealed that the top of its vertical stabilizer, or rear fin, was crushed, and blue paint from the Cessna was found on the remaining metal, the report said.

The plane's rudder also showed "crush damage," while part of the elevator, a flap that enables the plane to go up and down, and right horizontal stabilizer, the small wing in the back, were missing, the report said.

The two planes, both owned by Sanders Aircraft in Ione, were flying together and had been in Half Moon Bay earlier on the day of the crash for the Pacific Coast Dream Machines event. The Hawker, called Dreadnought, was a featured war bird at the annual festival, which included a variety of planes, motorcycles, cars and other tricked-out vehicles.

After leaving Half Moon Bay, the Hawker first met up with a Beech Bonanza for a photo shoot over the Golden Gate Bridge, investigators said. The two planes flew several circle patterns over the bridge before the Hawker collided with the Cessna.

The safety board will not issue a final report on the cause of the crash until the conclusion of its investigation, which could take months. The company that owns the planes has declined to comment on the incident.